


Black Skies Change into Blue

by Saoto



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-08
Updated: 2018-04-08
Packaged: 2019-04-20 04:25:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,025
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14253000
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Saoto/pseuds/Saoto
Summary: Caleb believes that Molly drank a love philtre that Nott stole. So to prevent him from falling in love with Caleb's "little sister", Caleb makes sure Molly looks at him instead. But somehow, Molly really does not like it when Caleb tells him that - no worries! - the feelings he has for Caleb right now are nothing but fake...





	Black Skies Change into Blue

**Author's Note:**

> (The title is from Sea Wolf's "Dear Fellow Traveller", a song from my Widomauk playlist and also one of my fave songs in general. I needed a title, and this song came up, so that's that.)
> 
> I got inspired by this nice widomauk fanart (http://tochennie.tumblr.com/post/171858337834/ever-since-finding-out-love-philters-are-a-canon ), though in the end the story had nothing to do with it anymore :'D  
> I actually started writing this a month ago, but never found the motivation to finish it until last night.  
> (for the translation of the German in this fic see the notes at the end!)

“ _Her lips left a trail along his jawline, hot, shallow breaths teasing his skin, as his hands wandered all over her body. She saw the hunger in his eyes, the lust, when she looked up at him, her fingers curling into his dark hair. She felt his hands slowly sliding down her back, not stopping until they finally reached—_ ”

Caleb looked away from his book and heaved a weary sigh. This book was crap, utter bullshit. Ever since they’d been to the Chastity’s Nook months ago, Jester gave him a new one of these cliché smutty books every few weeks, expecting him to read them. She probably didn’t even read most of them herself. She most likely thought she was doing him a favour – which, clearly, she was not. At least not with this kind of fiction. And even amongst these books, he had read so much better porn, since this one was not even getting close to _okay_. “ _Love in his Eyes_ ” had turned out to be exactly as cheesy and stupid as the title had made it sound like. Why was he even wasting his time with this novel when he had better study a new spell instead?

He was not in the mood to study, that’s why. His concentration had eloped with his motivation about ten hours ago and never returned ever since. He had followed the group to whatever they had planned for the day – shopping and looking for jobs, to be precise – but kept to himself for most of the time. He had his own thoughts to deal with.

Caleb’s gaze wandered, searching the tavern for the others. He was sitting away from them, in a corner close to the fireplace, where it was relatively quiet compared to the rest of the room. It didn’t take him more than two seconds to find the others, who had come down from the washing room on the second floor of the inn one after the other, and now sat at a larger table not too far away from him. He could hear their voices through the music and loud murmurs, but he couldn’t bother to listen to them.

Then his eyes met Mollymauk’s. The tiefling was sitting with the others, an almost empty glass of ale in his hands, and was looking at Caleb with a gaze that showed both concern and understanding. Caleb held his breath for a second, tearing his eyes away from him. It felt weird looking at Molly when his thoughts had been busy with smut fiction only seconds ago. It was giving him even weirder images he wasn’t asking for, surely. Of course, he was quite thankful that Molly understood he would rather be alone to sit in silence right now – but somehow, he also felt a slight tinge of disappointment creep into his chest.

When he looked up again, Molly had turned his head away, cheerfully chatting with Yasha, who smiled and nodded more than she did with anyone else. Caleb watched Mollymauk’s hand resting on her shoulder and slowly sliding down her arms, his thumbs drawing circles on her white skin. The woman laughed at something he said, and when Caleb turned his head away due to the stinging feeling of jealousy, he could have sworn he felt Mollymauk’s gaze on him a second time.

He did not check if it was true.

He hated himself more than enough for feeling this way for a person he hardly knew – a person who lied through his teeth with a big smile on his face; a person he could not trust yet, if ever. But Mollymauk was so much more than just a pretty liar – he was also one of the nicest people Caleb had ever met, even though Molly liked to pretend he was nothing but an asshole, someone who didn’t care about a damn thing in the world. It was just not true; Caleb could see that Mollymauk always worried about everyone, carefully placing a hand on your shoulder when you needed comfort, lending an ear if you needed someone to talk to, and giving soft kisses on the forehead to calm you down. He had done all of these things for Caleb, and every single time Caleb had learned something new about the tiefling. Not about his past, no, but about his present. He could not trust Molly yet, as he did not know anything about what made him who he was today – but he was beginning to believe he knew who he was now, and he knew what he did. He knew that he was a caring, loveable person. Wasn’t that enough to justify what he felt?

Caleb gulped, forcing his eyes to focus on the letters in front of him again. “ _His thumbs teased the soft skin beneath her breasts, making her shiver in anticipation. He hungrily listened to her sighs and moans, and…_ ” It was useless. His thoughts had already wandered off too far to return.

“Show me, show me!”

Caleb quickly raised his head, finally giving up on reading for the night. Sitting next to Fjord, Jester and Nott were leaning over something lying on the wooden surface, both looking incredibly excited. Caleb knew this look on the little goblin’s face: this was her “I just stole something cool” face. Usually not a good sign.

“Yes, yes,” Nott said in a hushed whisper, but still loud enough for Caleb’s ears to catch, even though the tavern was full of music and noisy voices. The goblin girl took the satchel from the table into her long, green fingers and turned it around. Then she pulled something out of it, trying her best to hide it from the others at the table. A small bottle, filled with a bright, pink liquid, was resting in Nott’s green palm. Frumpkin, curled up at Caleb’s side, raised his head, as if he sensed the unease spreading through Caleb like wildfire. He narrowed his eyes, a hand carefully reaching out to run his fingers through Frumpkin’s soft fur to soothe himself. He could not put his finger on it yet, but something about that bottle gave him a really bad feeling.

“Do you think it will work?” Jester giggled and leaned closer to Nott, a conspiratorial grin on her face as she shielded the bottle from the rest of the group at their table.

“It sounded like the real thing,” Nott answered with a shrug, and Caleb’s brows furrowed even further. “The merchant was very secretive about it.” They had been to the market place earlier today, and the only merchant who sold potions that Caleb could remember had been this shady guy who sold lots of different magic potions. Nott, holding on to Caleb’s hand, had listened in when the weird merchant had tried to impose something on a shy, young woman who seemed very uncomfortable with the whole situation. The bottle in his hands had been a love philtre. The same rose-coloured substance as in the bottle in Nott’s hands. _Of all things_ …

“Maybe we should try it out on somebody?” Jester whispered and looked around, obviously trying to spot a potential victim. Caleb quickly lowered his gaze, not to make them know that he had been listening in all this time. He could almost feel Jester’s gaze on him, but that was quickly followed by Nott’s overly protective voice and the words: “No, not _him_!”

Caleb almost heaved a sigh of relief, but then he heard another familiar voice – louder than the hushed whispers before, yet still a few feet away.

“What got you two so excited?” Caleb could almost hear the smile through the words spoken, and when he looked up, he saw that expected, beautiful smile on Mollymauk’s face. Caleb gulped. No. This did not bode them well. Mollymauk had intruded into their conversation at the worst possible time.

“Oh, we just…” Nott began to stutter, and Jester immediately grabbed the goblin’s arm, interrupting her words: “We bought a tasty new drink at the market today! Molly, do you wanna try it, too?”

Mollymauk raised an eyebrow, the amusement plainly written all over his face. That’s just how he was: he loved to play along with whatever shenanigans the girls did – maybe not always for his best. “This little bottle there? Looks like rose mead – am I right?”

“Y-yes, of course! Rose…” Nott stuttered, and if Caleb had been interested in seeing if the philtre would work, he would have facepalmed, because her lacking skill of deception was clearly showing. But the way things were right now, and the people involved… it was in his best interest if Nott _was not very convincing_.

As if one of the gods had heard his thoughts and decided that they wanted to fuck with Caleb, he heard the words “Alright. Sure!” immediately followed by the scraping of a chair. Mollymauk had sat down facing the girls and downed his own drink, then pushed the now empty glass in the direction of Nott and Jester.

In retrospect, Caleb wondered why he had not acted immediately; why he had waited a few seconds too long to prevent what was about to happen. In retrospect, he was also incredibly glad… that he had been too slow.

The glass was filled to the brim before Caleb registered what was happening, and he had only stood up and taken a few steps in the direction of the group’s table when the glass was already at Molly’s lips. He wanted to do something, to interrupt what was bound to happen. If the philtre worked, it would mean that Molly could fall in love with Yasha or Beau (which would be terribly awkward for all of them), or maybe Fjord, Jester or a complete stranger (probably pretty funny but still pretty weird for everyone involved). Worst case, though, would be Nott! If the one person he saw as his young sister would be the one a charmed Mollymauk would fall in love with, it would not only be terrible for Mollymauk afterwards, but it would probably also break Caleb’s heart. _Well… or… it would just be… wrong_ , he told himself when he strode over to the table, the moment Mollymauk had drained the last drop of the pink fluid.

Well. He’ll be damned. It was either him or the others or some random person at the tavern, and Caleb could not say which would be worse. So he grabbed Mollymauk’s shoulder and turned him around to face him, then lifted the tiefling’s chin with his other hand, practically forcing him to look Caleb directly in the eyes. Molly’s red eyes widened in shock, while the girls on his right gasped in surprise (or was it excitement?). Then the tiefling’s expression suddenly softened again, and the warmest smile Caleb had ever seen spread over Mollymauk’s face, while the tiefling’s left hand gently touched the arm that was holding Molly’s chin up. Caleb gulped; this had been a terrible idea, _a horrible decision_ , even if it would only be for a few hours or so.

“Caleb! So good to see you here! Have you decided to sit with us, after all?” Molly drawled and tilted his head, making Caleb flinch and draw his hands away out of reflex. “I thought you’d rather sit down at the fireplace and read by yourself, but you’re always welcome here, right?” Molly had turned to Nott and Jester while he had spoken, seemingly ignoring the wide eyes and open mouths of the girls.

Jester was the first to regain her composure after a few seconds too long for comfort. “Yeah, sure! Sit down with us! Do you want a donut?” She rummaged through her pockets as she spoke, pulling out a stale pastry and held it out to Caleb, who could see the corner of Molly’s mouth twitch for just a second.

“I’m not sure this thing is still edible, dear,” the tiefling muttered, glancing back at Caleb before he had even finished talking. Caleb was not sure anymore who he had meant when Molly said “dear”.

“It is,” Jester grumbled, taking a huge bite out of the donut, trying to hide her disgust when it clearly _was not_. Nott, on the other hand, silently studied the two men, looking almost worriedly at Caleb.

“Umm…” she began to say, and her eyes flickered from Caleb to Mollymauk, and back. “So, did it—”

“You look incredibly agitated, Caleb. Did something happen?” Molly inquired, interrupting Nott’s words. “Do you need a drink, perhaps? Are you alright?”

 _Are you alright_. A question Molly asked him quite often, to be fair, so there was nothing unusual about it. But the soft touch of long, elegant fingers on his arm felt even gentler than normal, and the cautious tug on his sleeve, urging him to sit down, made Caleb shiver more than ever during their previous months of travel. Molly’s bright, red eyes were trained on his, and Caleb was glad that the lighting in this tavern was so sparse at this hour – or else it would have betrayed the blush creeping onto his face as Mollymauk stared at him, almost unblinking, his lips curled up into a beautiful but worried smile.

“ _Nein_ , I’m alright, it, it is just…”

“He probably just needs a drink to calm down. I gave him an especially juicy book today, so that’s probably it, probably,” Jester chirped, but the smirk on her face betrayed her. Beau had shouted at the barkeep for another round of drinks before Caleb could protest, and suddenly he was part of that little group again that he had tried to avoid at least for this night. Like always, it would end like this. There was no escape, as it seemed.

“The book is not the problem, Jester, and you know it. I do not enjoy this kind of reading,” he muttered, and in the corner of his eye he could see Mollymauk’s grin widen. Molly’s hand wrapped around his arm and gently pulled him down, and Caleb did not fight against it. Before he knew it, he was sitting on the chair closest to Molly, his eyes still trained on the girls. He did not dare to look to his left.

“You keep saying that, Caleb, but you still read them,” Jester returned with a pout, rolling her eyes. “Besides, didn’t you think those two were cute? I especially liked the scene where they sneaked into the garden house to screw and then…”

Caleb buried his face in his hands, trying his best to blend out every single word that came out of Jester’s mouth. Seriously, he liked the tiefling girl a lot, but sometimes she was just as bad as a younger sister had to be. Perhaps that’s what she was to him: another younger sister. Part of his strange little family. That would explain why she and Nott were becoming more and more like partners in crime ganging up against him. They meant well, but they also liked to have fun on his behalf.

Just like right now.

Caleb heard Mollymauk giggle on his side, and a hand reached for his lower arm, hidden underneath the table. “I did not know you liked to read such explicit stuff,” he drawled, unable to hide a laugh, and teasingly stroked the back of Caleb’s hand with his lean fingers. Caleb could feel the cold metal of Molly’s various rings brushing against his skin, making him shiver both in astonishment and delight. It felt nice and comforting, both hot and cold, and for a split second a voice in the back of his mind thought: “Yes. I could get used to that.”

“I do not,” Caleb huffed in reply, both to Molly and his own thoughts, but did not dare to move a muscle. No one but him could see what Mollymauk did underneath the table, and he’d like to keep it that way. Besides, there could be worse. Except… this was only because of…

Caleb cleared his throat, glaring at Jester in an attempt to seem intimidating, but if the look he got in return accounted for anything, it was only amusement that Jester got out of it.

“ _Ich_ …” he stuttered eventually, catching his thoughts before they ran away, and shook his head. Then he turned towards Molly, who’s hand still rested on his own. “I mean… Listen. This is all a big misunderstanding. Well, of sorts. The girls made you drink a love potion, Mollymauk.”

The tiefling’s eyes widened and his gaze flickered to Nott and Jester who had very different reactions. While Jester smiled sheepishly, yet unable to hide her amusement, Nott looked like she was about to bail out and run. Sure, she wanted to know if the philtre worked just as much as Jester did, probably, but she was not willing to deal with any kind of conflict that could arise from her curiosity. Especially not if it involved Mollymauk, given the previous encounters she had told Caleb of a while ago.

“And the first person you looked at was _me_ ,” Caleb continued, suddenly sick to the stomach, as he could feel everyone’s eyes on him, “so in case you have some strange feelings for me now… no, I mean, if you think you _love_ me now…” He paused and gulped. This was terrible. This was absolutely horrifying. _Why the hell…?!_ “ _Es ist so_ , well, I mean… believe me, your feelings for me – they aren’t real. Don’t worry about it.”

Molly’s expression darkened for just a moment, displaying a hint of anger, mixed with confusion. The tiefling’s brows furrowed for a second, his red eyes piercing through Caleb like knives – right before his gaze softened again, even lit up like a straw fire. All of a sudden, Mollymauk’s face shone like the sun, and Caleb felt like it would burn him if he looked at it for too long.

And that was exactly the problem. Caleb feared danger; he liked to tell himself that he would do everything to stay away from it, to stay out of reach of everything that could hurt him in any way possible. Caleb was afraid of fire, in a way. He was afraid of what it could do – of what it _had_ done – and yet… he stayed close to it. Fire was what he feared, and fire was what he stayed close to, even though it could burn him and everything he held dear. It was giving him warmth and the strength to fight, yet it could destroy him if he made one single mistake.

Caleb was wary of fire, yet he was fascinated by it. In the same way, Caleb was wary of Mollymauk, _and yet_ …

“What are you _talking_ about, darling?” Molly returned, and Caleb could not quite tell if that was sarcasm in his voice or just the way Mollymauk always talked. There was only a fine, fine line between both, to be fair. “That was just some very tasty drink, nothing else.” Still, the tiefling’s hand now rested on Caleb’s leg, like it usually never did. Sure, Mollymauk had made it clear before that he loved to show physical but completely platonic affection for everyone in the group – forehead kisses, comforting touches on arms, backs and shoulders, and sometimes he had even held unto Caleb’s hand just to reassure him. But right now it felt weird. The fact that this was due to a love potion just felt wrong.

“Okay, so how do you feel about Caleb right now?” Jester asked, leaning halfway over the table in excitement. Nott on her left looked rather uncomfortable, but even she could not hide that she found the situation extremely vexing. After all, it was not every day you could see a love philtre at work.

Mollymauk shrugged and tilted his head in Caleb’s direction, grabbing his hand under the table again and squeezed it, quickly winking at the girls. “Oh, you know. Just like always. He’s a wonderful person, isn’t he? Absolutely lovable. _So full of mystery_.” The tiefling laughed, and his laugh sounded like heaven to Caleb. If he hadn’t been sure that Molly was the one who had drunken the potion, he would have believed it had worked on him instead.

He had to pull himself together.

Caleb rose to his feed, ripping his hand free from Molly’s in the process. The tiefling shot him a surprised and almost hurt look, before standing up as well out of reflex.

“I am really sorry, but I’d like to go back to my reading now,” he mumbled, walked over to his table and grabbed his book. Then he stormed towards the stairs up to their rooms, carrying the book under his arm, and hardly registered the halting steps following after him.

He only stopped when he had entered the room he shared with Fjord and Mollymauk. He closed the door behind him and sat down on his bed in the small room. He should have done this immediately, instead of rushing in to stop Molly from looking at the girls after drinking the potion. He should just have walked up to his room and waited there until the love philtre’s effect had worn off. There had been no need for him to butt in to this; he should have let the girls deal with this issue themselves. Instead, he had to get himself deep into some shit. _Classic Caleb_.

He burrowed his face in his hands, lying back down on his bed. The mattress was hard and uncomfortable, but he had different problems right now. Of course it had to be Mollymauk, of all people who could have drunken the potion. It had to be the handsome tiefling that made Caleb’s heart beat faster with every smile or every touch. Whenever Mollymauk looked at Caleb, he couldn’t help but stare at his beautiful lips and imagine how soft they were, and whenever the tiefling touched his arm to comfort him in battle, Caleb had a hard time focusing again. And yet, everything that Mollymauk did gave him more energy and inspiration than a bard’s song ever could. Caleb had wondered what this meant for a long time; by now, he was almost certain he knew.

The squeaky sound of the door yanked him out of his thoughts, and he opened his eyes, but dared not to take his hands from his flustered face. He could recognise the footsteps by their sound alone anyway. Of course. Knowing his luck, it had to be _him_.

“I know I am repeating myself, but honestly, are you alright?”

“ _Mir geht’s bestens_ ,” Caleb groaned and rolled to his side, facing away from Mollymauk standing in the doorway. He heard the door close behind him, followed by the light steps of the tiefling walking through the dark room. The sound stopped almost directly at his side. “ _You_ are the one who is not fine right now, Mollymauk. You are the one influenced by some love potion. Besides…” He pushed himself up on his forearms and turned around to sit at the edge of his bed. He had been right in his assumption: Molly did indeed stand directly in front of him.

“Besides,” he tried to continue, before he lost his thoughts once more due to the pretty tiefling giving him this weird look, “why did you even follow me?”

Mollymauk raised an eyebrow, once again tilting his head like he often did when he was confused. Caleb didn’t even know if anyone else besides him was aware of this appealing little habit. “Caleb, this is _my_ room as well,” Molly said, unable to hide a laugh. “But even so, you seemed quite out of it for the whole evening. You’ve got me worried.”

 _You’re not worried, just charmed_ , Caleb wanted to say but couldn’t. Instead, he sighed and stood up, walking over to the small window of their room. The sky was pitch-black – the stars above were the only light shining outside. It was late at night, almost fifteen minutes since Molly had been affected by the philtre. Not long enough for such an effect to wear off yet. He would have to deal with it for a bit longer.

Not that he wouldn’t want Molly to be affectionate, admiring and in love with him. It was rather the knowledge that afterwards, Molly would probably just laugh it off as a joke. A good ol’ joke by his good pal Jester and her partner in crime, Nott. It would be a joke to them, and for Caleb, it would be a broken heart.

He groaned and shook his head. It was so much like him to be melodramatic when nothing had even happened yet. He leaned towards the window, pressing his forehead against the cold glass to cool down his head and the thoughts within.

“Honestly, Caleb, you are not making it any better right now,” Molly muttered and walked up to him, resting a hand on his shoulder. “You’ve been acting even stranger since the girls did—”

“Listen,” Caleb interrupted him, turned around, and looked at him. He looked at his face, but not directly into his eyes; he hardly ever did that when they talked to each other. He just couldn’t face him like this. “I don’t want this to be awkward tomorrow, so we should better just go to bed and wait until it’s over, okay? You haven’t drunken all of it, so it will probably wear off soon once you sleep.”

There it was again: the tinge of anger mixed with confusion on Molly’s face, immediately followed by a bright smile turning into a smirk. A fake smile. Caleb didn’t know Molly well, but he could tell that much.

“If you wanted to get me into bed so desperately, you could have phrased that much more romantically, my dear,” he drawled, that fake expression still on his face. Caleb rolled his eyes.

“You know what I mean, even in that state. Or has the potion taken your clever mind as well? No, did not think so.”

Before Molly could reply, Caleb strode past him, back towards his bed to end the conversation for the night. He did not want to deal with this any longer, because even knowing it was fake, such comments combined with that forced smile hurt him more than a bolt to the chest. But Mollymauk didn’t seem to have any of this. As Caleb passed him by, his hand wrapped around Caleb’s wrist and held onto it, stopping him from walking further.

“You keep saying my feelings are fake,” the tiefling muttered, and his whole demeanour changed. The red eyes, usually so warm and tempting, almost seemed intimidating for a second, before Molly seemed to regain his composure and put on a smile again. “I mean it when I say that I like you a lot, Caleb, dear. And a love philtre has nothing to do with it.”

“…is exactly what someone who drank a love potion would say,” Caleb muttered with a sigh and turned to face Molly. “ _Außerdem wäre das eh zu schön um wahr zu sein_ …”

Mollymauk furrowed his brows in confusion as he raised his hands at the same time, placing them on Caleb’s shoulders to keep him from running away. Caleb’s instincts all screamed at him to run and hide under the covers, and wait until the potion’s effect was over and Molly would laugh about the whole ideal and his fake confession, but the simple touch of the tiefling’s warm hands froze him in place. “I hope you did not insult me just now,” Molly said after a brief silence, his fingers gently digging into Caleb’s shoulders, massaging his tensed muscles through the fabric of his shirt. “I only know the most basic things in Zemnian, so don’t you think this is a bit unfair?”

“I did not insult you,” Caleb mumbled and very weakly tried to shake Molly’s hands off. “And I do not think it is unfair.” It probably was, but he did not care right now. He just wanted his body to react to what his mind was telling him: to walk away and leave Mollymauk be. But like so often, his body and mind were at odds with each other. Why did this always happen in the worst situations?

Well, not that it was bad to have Mollymauk stand so close to him, while he stared at Caleb with gentle eyes and warm, comforting hands on his body.

 _The love philtre_ , Caleb had to remind himself. This was all because of this stupid, little, pink, damnable potion. And. Nothing. Else.

“Not unfair, huh?” Mollymauk drawled, leaning closer to Caleb’s ear. The breath brushing against his skin made him shiver, almost sigh in surprise and delight, but he could stop himself before he made something he would regret. “Then it’s just as fair if I do the same, right?” the tiefling continued, and with a smile that Caleb could not see yet clearly heard through his words Mollymauk whispered something in infernal. Caleb had only ever heard him speak in this tongue when he was cursing enemies, making fun of them – but this time, the hissed, guttural words sounded differently. They made Caleb flinch, but he didn’t feel hurt; quite the contrary – he felt relaxed, a familiar warmth embracing his soul and his body. For a moment, he almost feared Mollymauk had used his special charm, his talent to turn anyone into his friend through that devious tongue of his, but nothing seemed to have changed for him. He just felt the same: Amazed, admiring, and completely lost.

“Whatever,” Caleb hissed and finally managed to push Mollymauk away. He turned on his heals before the tiefling could stop him a second time and walked over to his bed, threw his coat on the floor and slipped under the blanket before Molly could say another word – in whatever language he chose.

It felt strange, not knowing what Molly had said about him, or to him – _for_ him, maybe. It also didn’t really matter. Morning come, and all would be forgotten anyway.

Caleb shifted around between the sheets for many minutes to come, unable to find a comfortable position on the hard mattress. He rolled to his other side, facing the room again, where Molly had already disappeared into his own bed as well. It was still dark in the room, but with the dim light falling through the slit underneath the door he could make out the shape of the beautiful tiefling on the bed on the other side of the small room. He looked so much less imposing without all the jewellery and ostentatious clothing, but he still looked impressive, even lying on his side, his hair a mess. Mollymauk’s eyes were closed, so Caleb could look at him, taking in every detail he could perceive in the darkness. The curly strands of hair falling down, framing his face; the pierced horns, glinting in the dim light; the dark, purple lips slightly parted; the chest exposed by his loose shirt, rising and falling slowly with every breath.

And then his eyes opened. Beautiful, red orbs glanced back at Caleb for just a moment, sending shivers down his spine. Caleb turned away in shame, being caught staring after so rudely rejecting Molly’s advances, however fake they might have been. He quickly pressed his eyes shut, regretting that he had left Frumpkin downstairs with Nott and the others – he would have loved to have someone to cuddle his stress away right now. Instead, he just tried to forget, to lose himself in sleep.

It would take him many hours, in which Molly’s soft breathing and the return of Fjord to the room were the only sounds he heard, until sleep would finally have mercy and overwhelm him.

 

In the morning, he didn’t remember much of that night. He was tired and upset, and worst of all was that he hated himself for feeling this way. He hated that he yearned so much for whatever the stupid charm of a stupid potion could have given him for a few hours or so – and he hated even more that he had momentarily considered taking advantage of the situation. He hated that he wanted Mollymauk to gently touch his arm or hand or leg; that he wanted him to embrace him like he often did with Yasha, or that he gave him a kiss, if only on the forehead again. He hated that he wanted that. And he hated that – even if he could have had it for this evening – he could not have it for longer than that.

And the worst part was that he could have sworn he had a dream, in which Mollymauk had stood next to his bed when he was plagued by nightmares, like he often was. In this dream, Molly had leaned down to push the hair out of Caleb’s face and had placed a kiss on his cheek. In his dream, this had soothed him so much that he had forgotten every bad thought that had plagued him before.

He could have sworn he still felt the lingering touch of lips on his face when he opened his eyes and the sunlight fell into the room, kissing him awake with a tingling sensation.

Fjord and Molly had already left the room for the breakfast that awaited them downstairs on the first floor. Caleb dragged himself out of bed, still tired and exhausted from less than four hours of uninterrupted sleep and lots of thoughts running wild through his head. He made his way downstairs hesitantly, not wanting to deal with what was bound to happen.

Either, the effect of the love philtre Mollymauk had drunken would have worn off, and he would have to deal with all the jokes he and the girls would make, or the effect still lasted, and he had to suffer even longer from a serious condition of “What Could but Would Not Be”.

The moment Jester spotted him, she pointed to the seat next to Mollymauk with a wide grin. Caleb sighed, not willing to put up with Miss Unicorns-and-Rainbows so early in the morning, and contemplated sitting down at a table far away from them. Most tables were empty, anyway.

But then Molly turned around and his face lit up like the sun; his smile was so bright, Caleb had to look away.

Yet given Caleb’s relationship with danger, he still walked over to them, almost in a trance, and slowly sat down next to Mollymauk. He immediately felt the warm touch of his hand on his back – a comforting pat, before he let his arm rest on the back of Caleb’s chair.

“They brought us some bread, cheese and sausages for breakfast. I wasn’t sure what you would like to eat, so Nott and I kept you a bit of everything.” Molly pushed a plate full of different kinds of food in front of Caleb, and the latter noticed how Jester and Nott followed every single movement Molly made with terrifying excitement.

Oh. Did this mean… Were they so curious because the potion still…

“You should eat something, Caleb. You haven’t eaten anything last night, and that can’t be healthy!” Now Molly’s other hand was on his left arm. He was almost embracing him, and Caleb could see how Jester’s eyes widened.

“Amazing, how long does this thing work?!” She glanced at Nott. “That must have been a really strong potion if it’s still working after so many hours!” She turned her head back to Molly, who was smiling at her in feigned confusion. “ _Does_ it still work?”

“Oh, how would I know?” he drawled, unable to hide a laugh, and squeezed Caleb’s arm. “The far more important question right now is _when_ Caleb is finally starting to eat something. Seriously, dear,” he said as he turned to face the man next to him. Caleb hoped the heat rising to his face did not betray him through a blush on his cheeks. “You need to eat something.”

Jester gasped quietly, turned to Nott and whispered something Caleb did not register, as he was far more focused on Mollymauk, who had just begun to take some bread with cheese and held it towards Caleb’s mouth.

“Or do you want me to feed you?” he asked with a smirk and leaned in to Caleb, getting both the bread and his own face closer to him. “Which is absolutely fine by me.”

Caleb held his breath and took the bread out of his hands, releasing all the restrained air with a huff. “Have we anything planned for today?” he asked instead of indulging Molly in his teasing.

The tiefling shrugged, looking at Fjord at his other side. “ _I_ don’t have anything planned for today. Perhaps the others have, but nothing including me, I hope. Why, do you need me for something?”

Caleb had expected a smirk accompanying these words. But without Jester and Nott looking, he found nothing of the sort on Molly’s face. Just honesty, and maybe some curiosity.

“Yes, in a way,” Caled muttered, avoiding the tiefling’s gaze at all costs. “I just need to borrow you for an hour or so, if that’s alright. We need to fix this.” He had a hard time hiding the annoyed groan when he thought about the unnecessarily wasted time due to this bullcrap, but he did not want Molly to be influenced by a magic potion any longer. It was distracting – and unnerving, because it was not real. And Caleb was starting to actually enjoy the additional, hidden touches. Like right now, as Molly’s fingers were absent-mindedly tracing the lines of the patched-up tears in his old coat, hidden from the others, behind his back.

“Oh,” Mollymauk said under his breath and smiled sheepishly. “What do we have to fix, exactly? But either way, I’m all yours.”

Caleb heard Beau snort loudly, not even trying to hide her amusement. He didn’t dare to look away from Molly, because he knew exactly what kind of face Jester was making right now. And he did not want to see that.

 

The marketplace was too crowded for his liking, but it was midmorning, so it did not surprise him. Behind his back, he heard Mollymauk huff in frustration as he lost sight of Caleb again, trying his best to catch up with him. Not a simple task, since he wore a long coat and jewellery that got easily caught in other people’s clothing in such close proximity. Caleb sighed and stopped in his tracks, turning around to wait for the tiefling.

“You’re going to get lost again,” he said, maybe a bit too quiet, because Mollymauk just tilted his head in confusion.

“Pardon?”

“Nevermind,” Caleb sighed and reached for Molly’s arm. “Just hold on to me and it will be fine.”

“Oh, alright,” Mollymauk said with a smile, and instead of grabbing Caleb’s arm, he took his hand into his own, intertwining their fingers. Of course. What had Caleb expected? He turned around, emotionally conflicted between annoyance and happiness, and the blush creeping onto his cheeks wasn’t helping him with that. So he just accepted it, and holding onto Molly’s hand a bit tighter than necessary, he tried to fight his way through the crowd once more. At least this time, he wouldn’t lose him again.

After a few minutes of searching, he finally found what he was looking for. As Molly came to a halt next to him, still tightly clasping his hand, he spotted the merchant from the previous day – the guy with the traveling wagon full of bottles and potions. He was currently advertising some kind of miracle tonic that brought back your hair in an instant, showcasing it at an old man who immediately grew lush, black hair, bursting out in joy.

“ _Hab ich dich!_ ” Caleb grumbled, noticing the strange look Mollymauk gave him from his side. “The merchant with the potions. He is the one Nott stole the love philtre from, I think. He’s gonna tell us about the antidote, if he wants it or not.”

Caleb wasn’t sure if his eyes played a trick on him, but Molly almost seemed nervous for a second.

“Listen, Caleb, there’s something you should know about this ‘love philtre’. It—”

“Hello, good sirs. I think I have just the thing for _you_ as well!”

Mollymauk was interrupted by the merchant, who had spotted the two men holding hands in front of his wagon. The tiefling looked up in surprise, his gaze quickly meeting Caleb’s, before his eyes darted up to the stranger. Caleb was surprised that the merchant did not back down in fear, because the glare Mollymauk gave him for his interruption was almost terrifying.

“I have just the thing for you here,” the man continued unfazed, turning around to grab something from one of his wagon’s shelves. He held out a small bottle with an orange fluid in it, and Caleb wrinkled his nose in reaction to the smell waving in his direction when the merchant opened the lid. It smelt disgusting.

“What is it,” Molly asked, not necessarily interested. But that’s just how Molly was: He always humoured people, even if it was not to his liking. That was something Caleb both loved and disliked in Molly. On the one hand, that meant the tiefling often showed interest for the most uninteresting things Caleb said or did – but on the other hand, that also implied he got involved with anyone else who tried to talk to him. Even though… it seemed to happen more often in his own case, Caleb noticed, now that he thought about it…

“Oh, just a little something to make young men’s nights more interesting, if you catch my drift,” he said and winked at Molly. Caleb did not realise he had snorted until it was too late to hide his laughter.

“Is that so?” Mollymauk drawled with a grin, squinting at his laughing companion. “But just what _exactly_ does that mean?”

Caleb held his breath to stop the laughter and remind himself he was supposed to be angry at the merchant and ask for the antidote – not laugh at whatever kind of stimulating sex drug the man was trying to sell them. Just because they held hands. Or did they actually look like…?

He did not listen to any of the explanations the merchant had probably gotten into after Molly’s question (at least Mollymauk’s smirk said more than enough for Caleb to know what had been said). Instead, he breathed in slowly, letting the air out in a long, steady flow, before he faced the merchant again, the look of indifference returning to his face.

“We would much rather have an _antidote_ from you. See, my friend here accidentally drank one of these love philtres you sold yesterday, and we want the antidote for that.”

There. He said it. But the merchant suddenly became quiet. Then he contemplated something for a moment.

“Oh, I don’t know about that. What love philtres?”

The man seemed nervous. Too nervous for Caleb’s liking – it made him nervous as well.

“You talked about them yesterday quite loudly with a woman you sold a bottle to,” Caleb lied, trying to hide his unease as best as he could. The man had talked to a woman about the potion, that much was true, but without sneaking around and eavesdropping they would not have known about it. “You said it would make any person fall in love with the first creature they look at,” he continued, glad that his keen memory let him remember almost every word he had heard when they passed the wagon less than twenty-four hours ago.

“I don’t sell any love potions.”

“Don’t try to shit-talk me!” This was frustrating. He just wanted that goddamn antidote, and free Mollymauk from being the way he was right now. It was torture, knowing the hand that was holding onto his and the thumb that was soothingly caressing the back of his hand right now were just the result of some magic concoction, in a way. It was absolutely frustrating. He glared at the man, grabbing the collar of his shirt with his free hand.

“Listen, man, I don’t know why you’re trying to fool me, but I will have you know that I have a better memory than you could _ever_ dream of, and I know everything you said yesterday about that love philtre.” He paused for emphasis, before he pushed his face even closer to the stranger’s, feeling terribly uncomfortable with the whole situation himself. It almost reminded him of that moment he had been pinned to the wall by Mollymauk, feeling both scared and mildly fascinated by the handsome tiefling at the same time. Except right now _he_ was the one doing the pinning, and he was not really feeling as powerful and mighty as he would have expected – only uncomfortable, and also feeling this way _for the sake of_ the tiefling, not _because of him_. But that didn’t matter. He had to continue, or else it wouldn’t work. “And trust me, I just need to lift my finger and my purple friend here will cut you up if you do not give me the antidote. Right. Now.”

“Caleb, please,” Molly sighed behind his back, trying to gently pull him away. “As I was just trying to tell you—”

“Alright, I _do_ sell love potions, but they are _fake_ , okay?! They don’t work, you hear me? They are just mead with rose petals and a few drops of berry sirup to make it seem pink. If your friend told you they worked, you’ve been had, good sir!” the man huffed, both scared and angry at the same time, and managed to escape Caleb’s grasp.

Caleb’s eyes widened, his gaze flickering to Mollymauk, who looked at the merchant with red eyes wide open.

“Is that true?” Caleb muttered, and the moment his mind had processed what that meant, he felt like he was about to throw up.

“Yes, kind of, but… Caleb, let’s go back.”

So he really had been had. Maybe the girls had worked together with Molly for an oh-so-funny elaborate joke. Maybe it had been Caleb’s words that had given Molly the idea to play along and make fun of his insecurities. Maybe…

Molly pulled Caleb through the crowd, out of the busy market place, until Caleb’s thoughts were completely drowned in the noise. _It had all been nothing but a joke_. There had been no artificial feelings from Mollymauk’s side, only him _making fun_ of Caleb. That somehow made it even worse. That…

“ _Caleb_.”

He had not noticed that it had gotten quiet again. When he took in his surroundings, he realised they were no longer at the market place but in an empty alley, and it was silent, almost eerily so. Molly was standing in front of him – a bit too close for Caleb to feel at ease with the situation. The tiefling’s face was serious, but right now, Caleb was just torn between punching right into it and kissing his lips senseless. There was a fine, fine line between that.

“Great. I hope you had your fun,” he simply sighed instead, his anger turning into pure exhaustion. “Is that what you were trying to tell me? That it did not work and you were just making fun of me?”

Mollymauk’s eyes widened for a second, before they narrowed to slits. Beautiful red rubies, halfway hidden from sight. “Why do you think I was making fun of you?”

It was a question that wasn’t even looking for an answer. Caleb did not dare to open his mouth. He just stared at the ground, the small space between Molly’s feet. Looking back into the tiefling’s eyes right now would probably equal the feeling of getting your heart ripped out and thrown in the dirt.

“You were claiming my feelings weren’t real, over and over _and over_ again. It annoyed me.” But despite the angry tone hidden behind his words, the touch of Mollymauk’s fingers on Caleb’s face felt gentle and soft. A warmth was spreading through his whole body from the places Molly caressed his skin, and Caleb could only gulp in reaction.

“How would you feel if someone you like – someone you _really_ like – would claim that your feelings are fake? That your feelings are nothing but the result of magic, even though you know very well that it isn’t so. Even when you tell them you like them, when you tell them there is no potion talking _through_ you, and they still say your feelings are _fake_. Tell me, Caleb. How would _you_ feel?”

This time, it was a question that begged for an answer, but Caleb could not give it yet. His oh-so-keen mind had registered every word spoken, his thoughts had processed them, but his heart? It wasn’t quite that fast.

_Had that just been a confession? And those words last night? Had they been one as well?_

“I would feel angry. And hurt,” he muttered, and in his mind the mists lying over his thoughts were slowly starting to vanish.

“Exactly.” Caleb did not have to look up to know that Molly’s eyes were right on him, piercing his skull like arrows. But he also heard the smile hidden behind that simple word, the confusion and pain and…

Before he knew what he was doing, his hands had reached for Mollymauk, cupping his face between them and holding it in place. His gaze wandered from the ground up, over the tiefling’s body, until it reached his eyes. Unblinking, he returned Molly’s surprised stare, and for the first time in forever, Molly seemed at a loss for words. The grip of his hands on Caleb’s shoulders weakened, as Caleb pulled Molly’s face closer, not even noticing what he was doing.

It was only when Caleb’s lips met Molly’s, soft skin against his own fractured lips, that he noticed what was happening. The tiefling stiffened under the touch, but quickly let go of all the tension, loosing himself into the gentle, unexpected kiss. For a moment, Caleb’s thoughts were running wild, like puppies let loose into the courtyard for the first time, before the gate was shut and his mind became a blank slate, not able to think of anything but _Mollymauk_ ; the tiefling, who’s lips were slowly but hungrily pressing against his own; the beautiful tiefling, who’s hands were yearning for the comfort of Caleb’s body, hoping to have the intimate touch return. Caleb’s hands did what he had imagined for months, ever since he had first laid eyes on the handsome tiefling he had never expected to get close to. They were sliding up and down his sides, finally resting on his hips as Molly leaned closer, into the touch, up against Caleb’s body. The sudden shift of weight caused him to stumble backwards, against the wall, and Caleb was once again reminded of a certain moment down in the sewers, when he was pressed against a dirty, webbed wall. Except this time, his lips curled into a smile and he did not feel intimidated. In fact, he felt happier than he could have imagined. In his mind, the only way something like this could have happened would have been because of a love potion. The only way this could be was…

_Did this mean…?_

“Wait,” Caleb mumbled, trying to catch his breath as Mollymauk leaned back, his tongue quickly licking his upper lip. “Does this mean what I think it means?”

“Only if you think I enjoy both teasing and kissing you right now,” Molly whispered, slowly letting his fingers slide down Caleb’s chest, following the button row of his shirt, “just as much as I enjoyed thinking about actually doing what we just did. For quite a while, as well,” Mollymauk breathed in reply, resting his forehead against Caleb’s. The wall behind his head was hard and cold, but Caleb had never felt warmer than at this very moment.

“ _Ich fass’ es nicht_ ,” Caleb mumbled and shook his head, a weak smile creeping unto his face. It was indeed hard to believe that this was happening for real, and not due to a love philtre. How could someone like Mollymauk – a fire burning bright, a star too far away to reach – even think of boring, plain Caleb in a way similar to how Caleb thought of him? It felt strange to even consider the idea that the sun could fall in love with a star – a single, burnt-out, lonely star in the night sky. But here he was, holding Molly in his arms, the two of them leaning into each other in silence, sharing a warmth Caleb had never experienced before. It was unreal, like a dream. He would not go so far to say that it was true love – no, he would not claim to _love_ Mollymauk, _not yet._ It was too soon for that – but it was getting very close to it. He felt happy, at ease, even.

It still felt unreal, yet somehow he was okay with it. If that was real, it would take some time getting used to it. If it wasn’t… well, at least he would have had a nice dream for once.

“You’re giving me that look again.”

Caleb had not noticed that he had raised his head, staring right into Molly’s crimson eyes, like he hardly ever did. The tiefling’s brows were furrowed in worry, and his fingers carefully caressed his cheek.

“Yes, that look exactly. Like you don’t believe me.” Molly sighed, pressing his nose against Caleb’s. He could feel his breath gliding over his skin like a soft summer breeze.

“Whatever your mind is fabricating right now, I hope it is aware of two things,” the tiefling continued to whisper under his breath, his lips only inches away from Caleb’s. “One, this is real and not some kind of potion or dream talking to you in my stead. And two…” Now, his lips were almost directly on his, whispering the words into Caleb’s mouth. “I’ve liked you for quite a while, so if you try to tell me – _or yourself_ – one more time that my feelings are fake, I’m going to be angry for real.”

Caleb felt the grin in the kiss Mollymauk gave him, himself being unable to move, too scared to break the spell. It felt too good, too magical, too perfect.

 _It had been a confession after all._ It seemed too unreal. Caleb had never thought that someone could like him, if he could not even like himself. Especially not someone who was both danger and safe haven to him at the same time; paradise and hell, love and fear at once.

He enjoyed the way Molly’s pace matched his own, and how the crook of the tiefling’s neck seemed to be made for Caleb’s head to fit there. He loved how Mollymauk’s hands gently traced the line of his spine underneath the layers of clothing, and how Molly shivered when Caleb’s fingertips slid from his collarbone down to the point where the V-shaped cut-out of his shirt ended.

“And here I was thinking tonight I would have to hide in shame from all of you, because the charm’s effect had worn off by then,” Caleb said, his face still buried in Molly’s shoulder. He felt the tiefling shift a bit, his hands coming to a halt at the small of his back.

“You _do_ know that love philtres usually only work for an hour or so, right?” Mollymauk quietly laughed into his ear, and Caleb sighed. The breath on the soft skin of his neck soothed him too much to care about the sarcasm plainly obvious in the words spoken, and instead, he just smiled in return.

“I probably should have known that,” he whispered back, closing his eyes. “But I didn’t think of it.” He had been too busy not believing that he could have nice things for once; that someone could like him, the same way he liked them. He had been too busy to hate himself for thinking that someone else’s love for him could be real.

Sometimes, the fire that had looked dangerous in the distance was actually just a campfire, spending warmth and safety to the lonely traveller. Sometimes, what Caleb thought to be unreachable and scary was just what he had hoped for in all honesty, something to steady him. _Someone_. Mollymauk.

His arms slid around Molly’s body, embracing him and pulling himself as close to the tiefling as possible. He had never felt so safe, even given the strange situation they were in. He turned his head, until his lips could reach his neck, placing soft kisses on it. He heard the tiefling sigh, a trembling down his throat, before Caleb was yanked back by Mollymauk, just to press his lips on Caleb’s once more.

Maybe this would happen more often from now on. Maybe he would have to get used to it.

There was nothing else he would much rather get used to, if he was completely honest with himself.

“I know you’re not a man of many words,” Mollymauk breathed into Caleb’s mouth, slowly nibbling at his lower lips as he burrowed his fingers under the thick layers of Caleb’s coat, “and I think your actions tell me more than enough to know the answer. So this means you’re feeling the same, I presume?”

Caleb followed Molly’s expectations, not even trying to speak, but instead grabbed the back of the tiefling’s head, letting his hands run through the soft, purple hair with a smile.

“ _Mehr als du glaubst_ ,” he eventually muttered in Zemnian, a smile gracing his lips as he pulled Molly’s face close again, parting his lips, and shily but hungrily searched for the tiefling’s tongue. Mollymauk did not tense up, he just leaned into Caleb even more, pressing him to the wall completely, hands now placed on both sides of Caleb’s hips to avoid stumbling.

“No idea what you just said,” he breathed into Caleb’s mouth, his fangs gently biting Caleb’s lower lip, “but once again I hope you did not insult me.”

“Not in the least,” Caleb drawled, finally letting go of the tiefling, their bodies still pressed against each other in close proximity, hidden away from sight in an alleyway. It could not be more cliché.

“We should probably return to the others, though, or else they will get some ideas.”

Mollymauk grinned in reply, took a step back and smoothed down his coat, then reached out for Caleb’s hand as he said: “I don’t think they would be wrong, though.”

Caleb rolled his eyes. “Sure,” he said, taking the hand offered to him, and stepped out of the alley, fingers intertwined with Mollymauk’s. “They would be right about it.”

“I can’t wait to see Jester’s face once she finds out,” Mollymauk snorted, pulling Caleb along in the direction of their inn.

“I can already imagine…” Caleb sighed in return, tightening the grip on Molly’s soft, warm hand.

“Do you want to give them even more things to talk about?” Molly whispered, his head turned back to Caleb as they walked.

“Yes,” he muttered, a smile creeping onto his face, “I’d love to.”

“Alright then,” Mollymauk replied, his face turned back to the street they were walking on, but his clasp on Caleb’s hand had not loosened a tiny bit. “Let’s give them something to talk about.”

Caleb smiled. Of all things he had expected from this day, this had not been one of them.

Well. Sometimes dreams came true. Sometimes, fire did not consume you but saved you from the dark. Sometimes, the sun did not burn your skin but warmed your body. Sometimes, the lonely star could see the sun in all its glory and realise that it was just the same.

Just another star in the dark blue sky, looking for something it never had imagined to find.

**Author's Note:**

> Translation of the German stuff:  
> "Es ist so" = "The thing is that..."  
> "Mir geht's bestens" = "I'm absolutely fine", though in a rather sarcastic way here.  
> "Außerdem wäre das eh zu schön um wahr zu sein" = "And it would be too good to be true anyway"  
> "Hab ich dich!" = "Found ya!"/"Gotcha!"  
> "Ich fass' es nicht" = " I can't believe it"/"I'll be damned", though in a more positive way.  
> "Mehr als du glaubst" = "More than you think"  
> ...that was more than I thought, oops. Please tell me if I missed any.


End file.
